1. Field
The following description relates to a method and an apparatus for controlling cooling of a battery pack.
2. Description of Related Art
A high-voltage battery pack including a plurality of battery cells. The battery pack may generate a considerable amount of heat during charging or discharging. The heat generated from the battery pack may deteriorate a performance of the battery or shorten a life of the battery. Thus, maintaining a constant temperature of the battery is useful for continued use of the battery. To maintain a constant temperature of the battery, a cooling apparatus may be applied to externally transmit the heat.
A plurality of high-capacity battery cells may be used for a battery pack when a system requires a high capacity and high power. Accordingly, an amount of heat generated may increase. Thus, a high cooling performance of a cooling apparatus may be a prerequisite for stable operation of the system. Here, a temperature difference may occur among the battery cells in the battery pack causing performance and life span differences among the battery cells in the battery pack.
The battery cells in the battery pack may have a high-temperature portion and a low-temperature portion. Thus, it becomes harder to handle the temperature difference among the battery cells by supplying a cooling fluid identically to the high-temperature portion and the low-temperature portion. Further, such a temperature difference may increase, in a low load state, due to a reduction in a flow of the cooling fluid.